Music

How to Write One Song

How to Write One Song

  • Downloads：3661
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-03-29 07:51:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jeff Tweedy
  • ISBN：0571369391
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A ROUGH TRADE and PITCHORK BOOK OF THE YEAR

'A guide to rediscovering the joys of creating that we all felt as children。'
NEW YORK TIMES
One of the century's most feted singer-songwriters， Wilco's Jeff Tweedy， digs deep into his own creative process to share his unique perspective about song-writing and offers a warm， accessible guide to writing your first song， championing the importance of making creativity part of your everyday life and experiencing the hope， inspiration and joy that accompanies it。

'Fascinating。' ROUGH TRADE
 'Eloquent。' INDEPENDENT
'Nourishing。' PITCHFORK
'A proselytiser for the act of songcraft。' FINANCIAL TIMES
'A smart， funny， relentlessly practical guide。' GQ
'Delightful。' ESQUIRE
'Incisigve。' VULTURE

'A book written by a musician that doesn't relay autobiographical details in some form of （even loose） chronology is unusual; they typically have their own story to tell and that's it， good or bad。 Writing a book that goes some way to explaining the process behind their songwriting is something else altogether。 Jeff Tweedy， in How to Write One Song， achieves this。'
IRISH TIMES

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Reviews

Sarah ，

A short little book with practical advice on creativity and some nice reflections from Tweedy。

Clive ，

A lovely little read。 Jeff's rambly style is warm and welcoming and I'll be using more than a few of his tips when writing songs in the future。 It's also reminded me， rather importantly， how much I need to create things。 Cheers Jeff。 A lovely little read。 Jeff's rambly style is warm and welcoming and I'll be using more than a few of his tips when writing songs in the future。 It's also reminded me， rather importantly， how much I need to create things。 Cheers Jeff。 。。。more

Matt Harris ，

The writing style is very conversational， and after hearing Jeff “talk，” I’m not sure I’d spend more than an evening or two with the guy。 But there’s plenty of nice and helpful stuff in here， and I’m planning on reading it again once I can get my hands on the ol’ six string again。Very quick read

nora ，

love this one so much。 thank u jeff tweedy for actually getting me writing！ i wrote lyrics （finally） because of this book everybody！ thank god。 deadlines approach。i’m a really big fan of jeff’s idea of getting your ego out of the way in order to do anything creative。 the whole book is based on this idea - it’s very concrete in terms of creative advice but still maintains a kind of wonder surrounding the process， which i really appreciate。 also includes a ton of general encouragement， which i fin love this one so much。 thank u jeff tweedy for actually getting me writing！ i wrote lyrics （finally） because of this book everybody！ thank god。 deadlines approach。i’m a really big fan of jeff’s idea of getting your ego out of the way in order to do anything creative。 the whole book is based on this idea - it’s very concrete in terms of creative advice but still maintains a kind of wonder surrounding the process， which i really appreciate。 also includes a ton of general encouragement， which i find myself needing more and more these days。 definitely going to come back to this whenever i’m struggling to get myself moving again。 。。。more

Simon ，

Stephen Fry once said something about growing old and becoming tweed。

Asher Isbrucker ，

A wonderful little book。 It's like Bird by Bird for songwriting。 There are some practical exercises for coming up with lyrics and chord progressions， which I find helpful。 The rest is wisdom from a weathered musical soul who's been there: tapping a pencil on a blank page or holding a guitar wondering what comes next。 Much of the rest， besides the practical stuff， is kind of like therapy。 It's somebody saying "It's okay to write a bad song。 It's okay not to know what to write。 It's normal to doub A wonderful little book。 It's like Bird by Bird for songwriting。 There are some practical exercises for coming up with lyrics and chord progressions， which I find helpful。 The rest is wisdom from a weathered musical soul who's been there: tapping a pencil on a blank page or holding a guitar wondering what comes next。 Much of the rest， besides the practical stuff， is kind of like therapy。 It's somebody saying "It's okay to write a bad song。 It's okay not to know what to write。 It's normal to doubt and criticize yourself， and to fear the vulnerability inherent to songwriting。 The hardest part is getting past that， even temporarily—and it's so worth it when you do。" 。。。more

Arnaldo Neto ，

Um livro incrivel sobre criatividade que de fato me ensinou a escrever letras pra músicas。 Bom demais！

Kehan ，

If this book’s exercises help me get over the terrible songwriter’s block （yes I know I shouldn’t use the term）， I will re-rate it with 5 stars。

Christie ，

Long before I wrote my first song， I thought of myself as a "songwriter。"I picked this book up because it was recommended in a library conference session on creativity。 I do not plan to write songs anytime soon， but the exercises in the book were fun to work through and got my creative juices flowing。 I think you could definitely adapt them to other creative pursuits with words （poetry， creative writing， etc。）。 I liked the musings on creativity in general and some of the stories behind Tweed Long before I wrote my first song， I thought of myself as a "songwriter。"I picked this book up because it was recommended in a library conference session on creativity。 I do not plan to write songs anytime soon， but the exercises in the book were fun to work through and got my creative juices flowing。 I think you could definitely adapt them to other creative pursuits with words （poetry， creative writing， etc。）。 I liked the musings on creativity in general and some of the stories behind Tweedy's own songs （though I've never listened to them）。 The focus of the book is that you don't need to be a "songwriter"， you just need to write one song is refreshing and， again， something that can apply to many pursuits。 I also like that Tweedy showed the work that goes into what he does， instead of chalking it up to just natural talent （which I think a lot of non-artists do and keeps them from pursuing what they want because they don't have the talent）。 There were times that the book felt a bit rambly and repetitive， but otherwise it was a pretty good read and I definitely recommend it to those who are interested in adding more creativity to their lives， especially those that might be interested in songwriting。 CW: alcoholism， drug addiction， suicidal ideation， swearing （strong language throughout） 。。。more

Nick ，

Very conversational with a good perspective on music and creativity as a part of our lives that’s important to stay in touch with。 Additionally had some interesting tips and exercises for writing lyrics and music that will be fun to try

Ryan Laferney ，

Jeff Tweedy， frontman and songwriter for Wilco， demonstrates to readers in this wonderful， inspirational， short book just how the process of songwriting works。 This book focuses on the process of songcraft， and the joy of creation， and is full of helpful exercises and advice。 It's also a fascinating read to understand the mind of one of the best songwriters of the last twenty years or so。 Jeff Tweedy， frontman and songwriter for Wilco， demonstrates to readers in this wonderful， inspirational， short book just how the process of songwriting works。 This book focuses on the process of songcraft， and the joy of creation， and is full of helpful exercises and advice。 It's also a fascinating read to understand the mind of one of the best songwriters of the last twenty years or so。 。。。more

Ben ，

A lovely short book about an efficient and empowering artistic process。 The anecdotes are charming and interesting if you are a Wilco fan but I think anybody interested in creating art would find this book helpful。 I enjoy reading about writing and Tweedy gets it - he makes his process simple and personal。 If you have a songwriter or aspiring artist in your life， it would make a great gift。

Dan ，

I took up songwriting as my "quarantine hobby，" so when I saw that Jeff Tweedy was going to try to demystify the process a bit with a book， I was very interested。 This is a very， very quick read （I think I finished it in about an hour）， with a lot of useful tips that sheds light into some of Tweedy's more inscrutable lyrics。The melody/chords parts I think are a little less comprehensive than the lyrics parts。 But this is worthwhile， and good ROI on your reading time。 I took up songwriting as my "quarantine hobby，" so when I saw that Jeff Tweedy was going to try to demystify the process a bit with a book， I was very interested。 This is a very， very quick read （I think I finished it in about an hour）， with a lot of useful tips that sheds light into some of Tweedy's more inscrutable lyrics。The melody/chords parts I think are a little less comprehensive than the lyrics parts。 But this is worthwhile， and good ROI on your reading time。 。。。more

Big T ，

xmas gift from the wife - loved it！ the style is very jeff-tweedy-y in a good way。 it's fun， it's poignant， and i enjoyed the heck out of it。 small book that includes helpful songwriting exercises。 xmas gift from the wife - loved it！ the style is very jeff-tweedy-y in a good way。 it's fun， it's poignant， and i enjoyed the heck out of it。 small book that includes helpful songwriting exercises。 。。。more

Eddie Merkel ，

I really liked this book。 I feel like the author really was just having a conversation and trying to be helpful。 It’s hard to imagine anyone being more honest and open about his subject and what it means to him。This is aimed at song writing， but the lessons can be used for any creative endeavor。 My first reading of the book was one borrowed from the library， but I am buying a copy for myself that I can make notes in！

Brooks ，

“The coolest thing In the world is when someone steps outside their so-called station in life to indulge in a personal “art for the sake of art” moment。” I recommend this book to anyone who wants to create。 At some point we were all discouraged from creating things and developed this idea that everything you create has to impress your peers。 This book will push you to find your why and make things for yourself because you want to。 But obviously， try to make good shit 😅

Jeff Aradine ，

I tried to listen to the audiobook。 Couldn't do it。 The author's tone was distracting and didn't match the message。 I tried to listen to the audiobook。 Couldn't do it。 The author's tone was distracting and didn't match the message。 。。。more

Thomas ，

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a white man of a certain age will inevitably start listening to Wilco and enjoy it。 Tweedy is pleasantly down to earth in this， with advice/tips that extend to other creative endeavors outside of songwriting （be willing to be bad， enjoy the process， focus on thing at a time， etc。） - really it also works as general life advice。 During a dispiriting month at work this provided a surprising creative pick-me-up （I feel compelled to note there is a great sc It is a truth universally acknowledged that a white man of a certain age will inevitably start listening to Wilco and enjoy it。 Tweedy is pleasantly down to earth in this， with advice/tips that extend to other creative endeavors outside of songwriting （be willing to be bad， enjoy the process， focus on thing at a time， etc。） - really it also works as general life advice。 During a dispiriting month at work this provided a surprising creative pick-me-up （I feel compelled to note there is a great scene in Knausgaard， Book 6， where he is crying alone at a Wilco concert）。 I am not a songwriter， but as a someone who hacks away at guitar periodically for fun （perhaps you have heard of a little song called "Wonderwall"？）， I may go ahead and try and write that one song this year。 。。。more

Willow S。 ，

This book was super helpful！ I love how personal the writing was instead of being very factual like music theory books （nothing wrong with that though）。 The lessons on word play and coming up with lyrics that sound poetic without trying to hard was my favorite part。I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to make their own music but isn't sure how to get past their own judgement。 This book was super helpful！ I love how personal the writing was instead of being very factual like music theory books （nothing wrong with that though）。 The lessons on word play and coming up with lyrics that sound poetic without trying to hard was my favorite part。I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to make their own music but isn't sure how to get past their own judgement。 。。。more

Jennifer ，

So gentle and sweet。

Carolina Barlow ，

Inspiring， satisfying， incredibly helpful。 I recommend to any writers or creatives of any sort

Daniel ，

I had no idea who Jeff Tweedy was when I decided to read How to write a song。 I like the book because its short and a quick read。 My favorite part is part 2 or was it part there where he talks about exercises I can do to help come up with lyrics for a song。 I never thought of anything like the exercises he has in the book。 My favorite exercise is writing a list of nouns and then a list of items you see around you and drawing lines from the different words in each column and then writing lyrics。 I had no idea who Jeff Tweedy was when I decided to read How to write a song。 I like the book because its short and a quick read。 My favorite part is part 2 or was it part there where he talks about exercises I can do to help come up with lyrics for a song。 I never thought of anything like the exercises he has in the book。 My favorite exercise is writing a list of nouns and then a list of items you see around you and drawing lines from the different words in each column and then writing lyrics。 I think I have that right。And another tip I liked was to learn other peoples songs which makes sense to me。 If I learn there songs then I will have a better idea how songs are made。 I don't know anyone else's songs that well so learning other peoples songs is what I need to do。 One other thing I like about how to write one song is the cover。 I like the way the word song is made up of different colors。 。。。more

Sara ，

Even if you （like me） have no songwriting ambitions whatsoever， this book is a fantastic guide to figuring out your own creative process and inspirations。 Tweedy's humor and earnest humanity are good for the heart， too。 Even if you （like me） have no songwriting ambitions whatsoever， this book is a fantastic guide to figuring out your own creative process and inspirations。 Tweedy's humor and earnest humanity are good for the heart， too。 。。。more

Reagan ，

The poetry practice advice has been so useful to me！

Jesse ，

fun and clever

Dave Mason ，

I did it！ Wrote one song。 Thx Jeff。 Will change to five stars if it charts…

Mackenzie Kuettel ，

This book was super practical and inspiring！ So many nuggets in here and great practices to learn as a songwriter。 Found it very helpful。

Erlend Bergsagel ，

It is a book that helps you to write a song。Self help from Jeff Tweedy wich can also be transfered to other creative areas or life as well？I am a great Wilco fan。I think the book gave a insight into Jeff Tweedy。Liked it

Nicholas Infusino ，

What a beautiful little book！ “How to Write One Song” offers plenty of exercises for creating lyrics and musical ideas， but really， it’s a warm， deeply humanistic （and often very funny！） meditation on creativity and why it’s essential to our lives。

Sarah High ，

really great for anyone who wants to create。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=How to Write One Song

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=How to Write One Song&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,How to Write One Song&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0